Frozen in Time: Examining the Latest Frontiers in Cryopreservation Technology
Published in General News, Links.
Cryopreservation has underpinned biomedical research for many decades – and offers many exciting new opportunities ahead, including the long-term storage of cells, tissues and organs for therapeutic applications.
“Cryopreservation is the preservation of biological materials at very low temperatures,” describes Dr. Roman Bauer, a lecturer at the University of Surrey who is developing computational and statistical models of how tissue changes during processes such as cryopreservation.
The ability to store biological materials such as molecules, cells or tissues at sub-zero temperatures over extended lengths of time has far-reaching applications throughout biology and medicine.
“There are three major areas that are currently driving advances in cryopreservation technology,” says Professor Matthew Gibson from the Department of Chemistry at the University of Warwick. “One is the development of cell-based therapies, which have shown huge promise in cancer treatment. Another is in the storage and transportation of mRNA vaccines, which came to the forefront during the pandemic. And the final area is the use of cryopreservation to facilitate biomedical research, particularly with helping to reduce the use of animals for drug testing.”